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6A/5A Notes: Greenwood Gets Deja Vu

6A/5A Notes: Greenwood Gets Deja Vu

BRIAN D. SANDERFORD TIMES RECORD Greenwood senior Kevin Jones kicks the game-winning field goal as Baylee Moore holds with two seconds remaining in the game on Friday, Oct. 25, 2013, at Rowland Stadium. Greenwood won 45-42.

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By Leland BarclaySpecial to the Times Record

Nelson-to-Moore-to-Jones isn’t a double-play combination, but it’s definitely been a winning combination the last two weeks for Greenwood.

Deep snapper Michael Nelson, holder Baylee Moore and kicker Kevin Jones teamed up again Friday for a game-winning 23-yard field goal with 2.3 seconds left to secure a 23-21 win against Conway and extend the Bulldogs’ winning streak to 47 games.

The kick wasn’t quite as pretty as the 23-yard field goal a week earlier that beat Southside 45-42. Against Conway, the kick was more of a floating knuckleball that didn’t clear the crossbar by a whole lot. The ball may have been slightly tipped by Conway.

“We have looked and looked and looked,” Greenwood head coach Rick Jones said. “They got more penetration than they needed right up front, and I think it is possible that it was barely touched. I really don’t know. It went through as a knuckleball. It was right down the middle, so I was happy about that.”

The game-winning field goal Friday wasn’t the only thing similar to the week before when Southside took the opening kickoff and drove 18 plays for 76 yards in 8:50 for a 7-0 lead. Friday, Conway did the same thing, albeit a little quicker, needing eight plays in 3:19 to go 68 yards for a 7-0 lead after receiving the opening kickoff.

“Our defense gave up the long drive right off the bat,” Rick Jones said. “I think a lot of people are going déjà-vu all over again from last week. The coaches rallied them up and the kids rallied themselves up, and I thought we played awesome defense the rest of the night. I can’t say enough about them.”

Greenwood trailed Southside by 14 points, but took a 42-34 lead only to see Southside tie it at 42 before the Bulldogs went on their game-winning drive. The Bulldogs trailed Conway 21-14 early in the first quarter before Jones kicked the first of his three field goals in the final quarter. It was tough for the Bulldogs to settle for field goals instead of trying to convert fourth downs.

“It was brutally tough because when you play an offense like that, kicking field goals usually gets you beat,” Rick Jones said. “Our defense held in there and kept holding on and hanging on. They gave us a chance to win the game at the end. They did an awesome job.”

Conway certainly had chances on its final two drives to add to its lead, picking up three first downs on each drive and moving into Greenwood territory. The Wampus Cats lost a fumble to set up Greenwood for a 35-yard field goal that cut the deficit to 21-20. They then missed a 52-yard field goal.

“They have a big offensive line and they’re going to grind it, and grind it, and grind it,” Jones said. “Our defense, last week and this week, got us the ball to give us a chance. You either succeed or fail based on how you do on your last drive.”

Greenwood then took over at its own 20 for another breath-taking game-winning drive against a quality 7A opponent.

“Two weeks in a row, how could that ever happen?” coach Jones said. “It’s craziness.”

The fourth-quarter deficit to Conway marked just the fourth time in Greenwood’s 47-game winning streak in which they trailed in the fourth quarter. The 23 points is the second fewest the Bulldogs have scored during the winning streak.

The win assured Greenwood the top seed in the 6A state playoffs and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. Greenwood will once again host Little Rock Fair in the first round.

Airedales Are Ready

The Airedales are primed for their first conference championship since 2004, which is the longest drought for Alma in 50 years. Friday, Alma hosts Shiloh Christian, which is tied with Morrilton at one game back of the Airedales at 5-1.

“We have everything to play for,” Alma head coach Doug Loughridge said. “Our kids know the importance of this game.”

If Alma wins, the Airedales will be the top seed in the playoffs and have home-field advantage throughout. Despite their playoff prowess through the years, the Airedales have never hosted a semifinal game.

If Shiloh Christian pulls the upset and wins by three points or more, the Saints will be the second seed to Morrilton, provided the Devil Dogs beat Clarksville, which will earn the top seed by virtue of its 70-35 win against the Saints in September. Alma would drop to the third seed and hit the road in the first round of the playoffs — likely to Wynne.

“We can win this whole thing outright like we’ve been playing all along or we can mess around and let Shiloh get a piece of what’s ours,” Loughridge said. “We’re not happy with winning a share.”

Alma took care of Greenbrier on Friday night, 31-21, but needed 21 fourth-quarter points to do so.

“The first half, we played sloppy,” Loughridge said. “We talked at halftime and after video on Sunday, that is not our program. That’s not the way we expect them to play. I didn’t feel like we were giving effort getting to the football. We probably had more missed tackles than we had all year. We weren’t creating turnovers, and we weren’t bringing the helmet when we made the tackles.

Alma set a school record with 29 first downs in the game. Malachi White ran for 196 yards and caught two passes for another 27 yards. Evan Burris was a precise 15-of-19 passing 173 yards.

“We came out in the second half and played a different ball game,” Loughridge said. “There was one series we didn’t even think about throwing it, we just ran it right at them. That’s a tribute to the offensive line and the way Malachi can run it.”

Alma rushed for 285 yards, marking the sixth straight game for the Airedales to go over the 200-yard mark on the ground.

Clarksville Mending

The Panthers will play its final game on Friday without quarterback and senior leader Brandon Lovell, who left the game against Shiloh Christian with concussion-like symptoms.

“We will have to keep him out,” Clarksville head coach Michael Banning said. “He’s had a really good year and done a lot of good things for us. He’s provided a lot of offense and provided a lot of defense. There’s no doubt he’s been a very important part of our football team.”

Lovell completed 62-of-140 passes for 730 yards and five touchdowns and ran 127 times for 489 yards and eight scores. Lovell also started at linebacker on defense and was second on the team in tackles with 88.

Junior Hall Frost will start against Morrilton, but sophomore David Bolanos and junior Brian White will also get some playing time.

“We will use it as an audition for next football season,” Banning said. “All of them are underclassmen who will be involved in the quarterback position. We will see who gets a leg up on the competition for next year.”